Ruminations

43 this morning with bright sunshine. Big storm blew through yesterday, lots of wind and rain.

Random thoughts today. 

*Why this children's picture book? Well, that big ship in the Suez Canal--did you see the photos of the tiny excavator trying to get it loose? 

And in the "Global is Local" category, my grandson's Navy ship was to go through the canal, and might have been held up by this massive problem, but fortunately they hadn't quite got there, so all is well. He's on his way home after about 9 months at sea and I know he must be anxious to see his wife--they were married only 6 months when he was deployed.

*It is amazing what people get into after retirement. We got into furniture flipping and booths in antique malls. My cousin and his wife got into whitewater rafting, fishing, then most recently stained glass and boat-building. A neighbor got into farming on his homeplace. Another friend took up knitting, and yet another became president of the local library board, joined a quilting guild, and became more active in a local theatrical company. So if you're considering retiring but are afraid you might not have anything to do, don't let that worry you. I am betting you will find yourself busier than you've ever been in your life.

*It's the time of the tiny flowers. Coltsfoot, 

spring beauties,

 

bluets, 

violets, shepherd's purse, chickweed, wood anemones and so many more are showing their shy faces. Yellows, blues, and whites reign supreme right now, and soon pink will be added with redbuds, Deptford pinks, and wild phlox. The flowers of summer are big and showy--the many varieties of sunflowers, daylilies, wild roses, but right now it's the tiny ones that catch our eyes, and our hearts.

*I used to listen with amusement and some boredom when older people discussed their health and their medications. But here I am, doing just that with my friends and sisters and find it quite interesting, actually. How differently we see things when it's personal.

*Larry and I were discussing how old we feel--like, what age do we feel like we are? We both said we feel like we're 50, with just a few additional aches and pains. When I retired, at 60, I felt 60. But now, 10 years later, I feel younger than I did back then. More sleep, moving at my own pace, and less stress have made a lot of difference to my health. Another benefit of retirement.

*If you haven't tried it, do make that Chocolate Zucchini Bread I posted here a while back. I promise you, it's incredible. Like a good rich brownie. Put ice cream on it for a real treat.

*We spent several hours today trying to find brown mulch. Everyplace was out of it, until one place where we had to pay a dollar a bag more for a more expensive brand. All this spring the story has been the same. There's plenty of black and red mulch available, but not the brown, which is, of course, the most popular color, at least around here. So why don't the stores order twice as much of it, and less of the others? It's the same story every year.

Enough randomness for one day!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.